GoldenGol wins, makes history

Tuesday

Aug 27, 2013 at 9:54 PM

From staff reports

The Hendersonville-based GoldenGol Soccer Club made history over the weekend, winning a championship for the first time and also becoming the first Henderson County team to win a Regional Championship in U.S. Club Soccer.Just in its third year of existence, GoldenGol took two teams (the U-15, which won the title, and the U-14 which finished third) to the a U.S. Club Regional Tournament in Aiken, S.C.Led by a total of six goals by Matthew Mel over three matches, the U-15 team won the championship with a 1-0 win over South Carolina United FC, which is based out of Columbia, S.C. In the title match, Mel had the lone goal.He started off with a goal in a 3-3 tie against Effingham United 99 out of Georgia and then had a hat trick in a 3-1 win over South Carolina United FC in the second match. He added another goal in a 3-1 win over Liverpool FCA 98 Carragher out of South Carolina and then the other goal in the title match.According to Oviedo, Alex Salvaggio and Royster Strickland anchored the defense, and the midfield was led by Brandon Cervantes and Trevor Laffin.There were teams from four different state represented: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia. Teams included divisions from 8 through 19 years old.The U-14 GoldenGol team, coached by Daniel Calvillo and Mike Gilliam, also had a strong showing in its first tournament against teams of this caliber."GoldenGol is working together with the Henderson County Soccer Association to take more teams to these tournaments and expose these players to higher competition," Oviedo said.